“Not Dead Yet” Review – An Important Book for all who are Alive

I can hardly think of a topic that is less engaging than wills and trusts. Thinking about one’s demise is scary and all that legalese is hard to understand and boring. Creating a will or trust is really easy to put off and forget about – just do it later. Having been the recipient of an estate that came without a will or trust and dealing with probate, I can share first hand that is in not an experience that anyone would choose.

Author and Attorney, Eric G. Matlin

Enter Eric G. Matlin, Attorney at Law who has just published “Not Dead Yet”-so plan your estate”, a book that is completely different, very creative and extremely informative.

Patricia Munro is a wife, mother and grandmother who will turn 60 this year. Although neither she nor her husband expect to die soon, they know that, for the sake of their adult daughters, it's time to set up provisions for that eventuality. She found that this book helped make that daunting prospect manageable, as you can see:

Don's family

“I found this a clear, engaging, and well-written book. Thinking about one's legacy is never easy, even leaving aside the emotions. This book led me through each step of the process of ensuring that my wishes regarding end of life are clear, the disposal of my physical estate is protected so that it goes where I would want it to, and that my values are passed on to the next generation. The book includes definitions, summaries, and short anecdotes that helped me remember the content.”

Don's story continues

Mr. Matlin’s book is unique in my experience. It “speaks” to the average person, and has the extra feature of a graphic novel that is charming and engaging. He shared these thoughts in his book. “My mantra has been to make the process of estate planning as transparent and understandable as possible to regular people who need it but are not necessarily super-wealthy or particularly enamored of lawyers. In furtherance of this goal, I wrote The Procrastinator’s Guide to Wills and Estate Planning (Penguin Group USA/NAL., 2004)

Coach and Sarah leave a mess

With the help of my able staff, I have written estate plans for thousands of families, for people and families who ranged from having a negative net worth to those worth over $ 10 million.”

The book is well organized and easy to follow with logos and color-coding. Interspersed, are comments like, “Though estate planning is a serious subject, it doesn’t have to be entirely dreary. Black comedy, irony, satire and love all play a role.”

Chapter 7, “The Will” with it accompanying quote “A man who dies without a will has lawyers for heirs” anonymous. I can also add to the heirs- the government. I experienced probate as a kind of torture to be avoided if at all possible.

Ted Williams

The 24 chapters have an accompanying story in which Don and his family and friends graphically illustrate why estate planning is important, even to those who can’t imagine why they would need it. In Chapter 24, the last chapter, entitled,

“At last”, this quote, ”Death is a distant rumor to the young” by Andy Rooney rings very true.